"Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain." - Joseph Campbell

You may be experiencing pain in your body right now or have suffered in the past. I’ve experienced the horrible pelvic pain and debilitating cramps that come with having endometriosis. The pain was so bad at times, I felt like someone had karate-kicked me in the stomach, and I was going to die. There were days I couldn’t take it anymore. All I could do was cry out to God for relief.

Some months I’d get a break, but it would come back stronger the next. My song was, “Pain, Pain Go Away, please don’t come back another day.” Have you ever sung that song?

You might not understand why you’re going through this and experiencing so much pain. I sure didn’t understand why before I learned about endometriosis. I love people, and I bet you do, too. You give of yourself. You serve. You do the best you can do. You strive to live a godly life before your God. Yet month after month, you are in pain with no relief. Hoping the pain will just go away.

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Have you heard of the story of Job? This poor guy experienced one pain after another (see the Book of Job). It all started after God asked the enemy, “Have you considered my servant Job?” I could hear the same conversation over my life, God asking, “Have you considered my daughter?” Well God, please don’t consider me, would be my next thought. But why not me? Why not Job?

Job lost his children and his health, and his wife lost her mind by telling Job to curse God and die. Why in the world would she tell her husband, whom she loved so dearly, to ‘go off’ on God, and while you’re at it go ahead and die? Why didn’t she as a loving wife encourage him? She could’ve said, “Job, I know you’re in pain right now, but we’re going to make it through this together. We know God, so let’s pray to him. I don’t want you to die.”

Poor guy, it wasn’t enough that he had to deal with the gates of hell coming against him. He had to deal with his crazy wife in one ear and his insensitive friends in the other ear, calling him a sinner. And all of this on top of being in so much pain with boils covering his whole body; it’s no wonder he eventually cursed the day he was born.

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Why the abundance of pain for Job? Why the abundance of pain for you? Maybe he did something wrong? No, he did nothing wrong. Even though Job’s friends were convinced he had sinned big time.

I didn’t have friends like Job in my ear, telling me I’ve sinned. I had inner thoughts in my head that whispered, “You did something wrong.” I agreed, “Yeah, maybe I’m going through this because I did such-and-such as a teenager, and now I’m paying for it.” That thought tormented me like Job’s well-meaning friends did him.

Have you experienced accusatory thoughts like this before? Have you thought your pain was payment? It’s not true. Your pain is not a punishment for something you’ve done or didn’t do. You’re not experiencing this pain because you sinned.

What if you are going through this Job-experience not because you’ve sinned, but because you have been righteous in God’s eyes? What? That’s crazy, I know, but what if that’s the case. It was certainly the case for Job.

God said, “He (Job) was a blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8). Although he was a righteous man, Job was in a lot of pain. All the pain he experienced was not in vain. At the end of his story Job received double for all he went through. Double! If it happened for Job, then I must believe it will happen for me and for you. We will receive double for all we have lost and gone through. Double! God will restore the years endometriosis, and any other illness, has taken from my life, your life, your family, your body and your mind. He will restore! God restored Job, and he was better than he was before he went through his suffering.

You will be, too. You will have more. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, and it may be hard to see. In the beginning of my journey, it was hard for me to see how God would turn it for my good, too. But He will because you love him, and you are called according to His purposes (see Romans 8:29).